On a roll with four consecutive victories, two-time champions Mumbai Indians would look to continue the winning streak when they take on Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match, in Indore, on Thursday.
Senior South Africa batsman Hashim Amla, who is finally getting to play in the Indian Premier League, feels he is now more comfortable with T20 format and there is no reason why conventional batsmen like him can't succeed in the shortest format. Amla was branded as a Test specialist early on in his career but 12 years after making his international debut, he is a valuable asset for the team across all formats. To add to that, his recent run of form in T20s has clearly shown how well he has adjusted to the slam bang version of the game. "There has been a lot of T20 cricket of late and that helps. Yes you do try to hit a few, innovate but the basics remain the same," said Amla, who joined Kings XI Punjab as a late replacement for Shaun Marsh.
RCB began their campaign without skipper and star batsman Virat Kohli as well as another key player A B de Villiers due to injuries and lost their opening match against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Dale Steyn produced a ferocious spell of fast bowling to inspire South Africa to a crushing 231-run victory over Australia in fading light on day four of the second Test on Sunday.
JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, Wayne Parnell and Vernon Philander put South Africa on top as they reduced Australia to 112 for four on the second day of the second Test at St George's Park on Friday.
Kings XI Punjab owner Ness Wadia said the spot-fixing scandal that rocked the Indian Premier League last year has made a dent on brand IPL.
England, who hold the urn, were dismissed for 233 in their second innings in the opening session of the fifth and final day of the maiden pink ball Ashes Test.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Ashes Test played at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Tuesday
Joe Burns will bat at number six when he makes his debut for Australia in the third Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting on Friday. The 25-year-old, regarded as one Australia's most promising young batsmen, replaced injured all-rounder Mitch Marsh in one of two changes to the Australian team that won last week's second Test in Brisbane. Paceman Ryan Harris, who missed the second Test because of a thigh problem, returns at the expense of Mitchell Starc.
Images from Day 1 of the fourth and final Test between India and Australia in Dharamsala, on Saturday.
Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of this week's third Test against India in Melbourne with uncapped batsman Joe Burns coming into the 13-man squad to replace him.
An fine all-round display by Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler's late assault with the bat ended England's long losing streak against Australia as the visitors won the fourth One-Day International by 57 runs in Perth.
A captain's century hewn from granite and two wickets in a fiery pace assault after tea saw Australia wrest the momentum away from England on day three of the series-opening Ashes Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
Australia fought back with two late wickets to restrict England to 196 for four and leave the Ashes series-opener in Brisbane delicately poised on Thursday after the tourists' unheralded batsmen threatened to dominate an intriguing first day.
England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow said the tourists were "content, relaxed, excited" as they arrived in Brisbane on Sunday ahead of this week's opening Ashes Test.
The fifth and final ODI against Australia will be one last chance for Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja to do something special and stake their claim for a place in the World Cup team
Australia captain Steve Smith slammed a half-century to break Don Bradman's record for the most runs in a Test series against India and put the hosts in control on Day 4 of the fourth and final Test in Sydney.
Mitchell Starc smashed an unbeaten half-century to steer Australia to 256 for nine on a difficult pitch on the opening day of the four-match series in Pune on Thursday.
India 'A' bowlers were largely ineffective, allowing Steve Smith and senior batsman Shaun Marsh to strike comfortable hundreds as Australia started their Test tour in impressive fashion in the three-day warm-up game in Mumbai on Friday.
'We need to stick to plan and back our skills to tackle India' 'You've got to be adaptable and you've got to be able to change your game almost mid-innings'
Australia remain optimistic about their Twenty20 World Cup campaign despite being shown up in all facets by India in the opening two matches of their current series. With Steve Smith leading an advanced party to New Zealand for the forthcoming ODI series, the Australians have made more changes to their XI, with Shane Watson to lead the side after skipper Aaron Finch suffered a hamstring injury in Friday night's second T20 defeat. In-form top-order batsman Usman Khawaja comes into the squad as Finch's replacement, and will likely open the batting alongside Shaun Marsh. Finch is awaiting scan results and the Australia camp is bullish he will be able to return before the start of the World Cup in India on March 8.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni knows the introduction of broadcast technology has enhanced the viewing experience for fans but the Indian skipper has called for restraint after the overhead 'Spidercam' interfered with play in Saturday's one-dayer against Australia.
Having spent much of the home summer suffering 'pad rash' from waiting to bat, Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has put the pent-up energy to good use when thrown the ball.
India turned in a fine all-round show to beat Australia by 27 runs in the second Twenty20 International and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Friday.
The likes of Virender Sehwag, David Miller and Glenn Maxwell have not managed to live up to expectations for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 8.
A struggling Kings XI Punjab will have to pull out all stops against in-form and unbeaten, Rajasthan Royals, when the two teams clash in an Indian Premier League match in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
With the 2019 ODI World Cup on the horizon, focus has firmly shifted to white-ball cricket with the arrival of limited-overs' specialists, in Sydney, on Tuesday.
'The three quicks bowled pretty good pace, they are relentless in pressure'
A mis-firing Australia head into the second Test against South Africa in Hobart under pressure to save the series and avert a full-blown crisis which would almost certainly be triggered by a fifth consecutive Test defeat.
Shaun Marsh's sensational strokeplay helped Kings XI Punjab edge past Rajasthan Royals via the Super Over after the match had finished in a tie in the Indian Premier League, in Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.
David Warner played another blazing knock smashing 31-ball 59 runs to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to a convincing victory against struggling Kings XI Punjab at the Hyderabad Stadium on Saturday. Chasing a modest 144-run target, the Sunrisers' skipper attacked from the start scoring seven boundaries and three sixes in his match-winning knock which gave Hyderabad it's third win in a row. Shikhar Dhawan played a supporting role scoring a patient 45 runs off 44 balls. For Kings XI Punjab, it was their fourth defeat in five matches. Earlier, the Sunrisers dished out another superlative bowling effort to restrict Kings XI to 143 for six. Electing to bowl first after winning the toss, the SRH bowlers, including the promising Mustafizur Rahman, Moises Henriques and others picked up wickets at regular intervals and also did not allow Punjab to score big runs. Moises Henriques scalped two wickets, while Bangladesh pacer Rahman deserves a special mention as he claimed two wickets, including a wicket in a maiden over, giving away just nine runs off his four overs.
Marsh said his team's bowlers have strategies in place and would be aiming for perfect execution when the action begins.
Skipper Steve Smith led the way with another torrent of runs as Australia raced to 251 for six and a lead of 348 over India before rain stopped play at the end of the fourth day of the fourth Test on Friday.
Umesh Yadav took three wickets on his comeback to Test cricket before Australia reached 221 for four at the close of play on the second day of the second Test against India on Thursday after battling their way back into the contest on the back of debutant paceman Josh Hazlewood's five for 68.
Australia captain Michael Clarke is fit to lead the side into the first Test against India on Tuesday and his return is a "huge boost" for the hosts, fast bowler Mitchell Johnson said.
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'We probably didn't think it was going to move around like it did. It was tough but Jimmy (Anderson) was magnificent' 'I think we're still reasonably confident, obviously the last two days haven't gone to plan but I think we're still in front of the game'
Australia may have made batting look easy while chasing 300-plus totals against India successfully twice, but opener Aaron Finch credited the team's inexperienced bowlers for it, pointing out that the current attack combined has played less ODIs than the now retired Mitchell Johnson.
Frustrated by the performance of his bowlers in the second One-Day International against Australia in Brisbane on Friday, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni declared that given the attack at his disposal right now even 300-plus scores are not enough against the home side.
Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will start favourites when they take on the struggling-for-survival Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match, in Mohali, on Thursday.
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